The BM-14 (BM for ''Boyevaya Mashina'', 'combat vehicle'), is a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

-made 140mm multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), normally mounted on a truck. The BM-14 can fire 140 mm M-14 rockets with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, a smoke warhead or a chemical warhead. It is similar to the BM-13 "Katyusha" and was partly replaced in service by the 122 mm

BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first comba ...

. Launchers were built in 16 and 17-round variants. The rockets have a maximum range of . The weapon is not accurate as there is no guidance system, but it is extremely effective in

saturation fire Saturation fire is a saturation attack using an intense level of artillery bombardment or rapid direct fire (from automatic weapons such as machine guns, autocannons or rotary guns) that is designed to overwhelm a target area with lethal firepower, ...

Variants

* BM-14 (8U32) - 16-round model (two rows of 8), launcher mounted on the

ZIS-151 The ZIS-151 (russian: ЗИС-151) was a general-purpose truck produced by the Soviet car manufacturer Automotive Factory No. 2 ''Zavod imeni Stalina'' in 1948–1958. In 1956, the factory was renamed to ''Zavod imeni Likhacheva'', and new tru ...

truck. Entered service in 1952. Also known as BM-14-16. ** BM-14M (2B2) - modified model, mounted on the

ZIL-157 The ZIL-157 is a general-purpose -ton 6×6 truck, produced at the Lichachev plant in the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1977, when production was transferred to the Amur plant, since the Lichachev plant wanted to focus more on modern trucks, such as ...

. ** BM-14MM (2B2R) - final upgrade, mounted on the

ZIL-131 The ZIL-131 is a general purpose 3.5 tonne 6x6 army truck designed in the Soviet Union by Zavod Imeni Likhacheva, ZIL. The basic model being a general cargo truck. Variants include a tractor-trailer truck, a dump truck, a fuel truck, and a 6x6 fo ...

. * BM-14-17 (8U35) - 17-round (8+9 launch tubes) launcher, mounted on the GAZ-63A. Developed in 1959. This launcher was also used on naval vessels, for example

Project 1204 A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

patrol boats. ** BM-14-17M (8U35M) - modified model, mounted on the

GAZ-66 The GAZ-66 is a Soviet and later Russian 4x4 all-road (off-road) military truck produced by GAZ. It was one of the main cargo vehicles for motorized infantry of the Soviet Army and is still employed in former Soviet Union countries. It is nickna ...

. * RPU-14 (8U38) - towed 16-round version, based on the carriage of the 85mm gun D-44 and used by Soviet

Airborne Troops Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ai ...

, where it was replaced by the 122mm BM-21V "Grad-V".

Ammunition

The BM-14 launcher and its variants can fire 140mm rockets of the M-14-series (also called Soviet-made M14 artillery rockets). They have a minimum range of and a maximum range of . The M-14 series consist of three known types: * M-14-OF - an M-14 rocket with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead containing of

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

. * M-14-D - an M-14 rocket with a smoke warhead containing

white phosphorus Elemental phosphorus can exist in several allotropes, the most common of which are white and red solids. Solid violet and black allotropes are also known. Gaseous phosphorus exists as diphosphorus and atomic phosphorus. White phosphorus White ...

. * M-14-S - an M-14 rocket with a chemical warhead containing of

sarin Sarin (NATO designation GB G-series, "B"">Nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for Nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic synthetic organophosphorus compound.

Use

During the Syrian Civil War, a

rocket engine A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accordanc ...

from a 140 mm M-14-series rocket was identified on 26 August 2013 by the U.N. fact-finding mission in the

Muadamiyat al-Sham Muadamiyat al-Sham ( ar, المعضمية الشام, al-Muʿaḍḍamīyah ash-Shām; also spelled Moadamiyet al-Sham, Moadamiya or Moadamiyah) is a town in southern Syria, administratively a part of the Darayya District in the Rif Dimashq Gover ...

district southwest of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, allegedly originating from the chemical attack on Western Ghouta on 21 August 2013. The rockets nozzle assembly had 10 jet nozzles ordered evenly in a circle with an electrical contact plate in the middle. The bottom ring of the rocket engine had the

lot number A lot number is an identification number assigned to a particular quantity or lot of material from a single manufacturer. Lot numbers can typically be found on the outside of packaging. For cars, a lot number is combined with a serial number to fo ...

"Г ИШ 4 25 - 6 7 - 179 К" engraved, which means it was produced in 1967 by factory 179 ( Sibselmash plant in

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

). However, no warhead was observed at the impact site and none of the 13 environmental samples taken in the Western Ghouta area tested positive for sarin, although three had "degradation and/or by-products" possibly originating from sarin. On 18 September, the Russian Presidential Chief of Staff

Sergei Ivanov Sergei Borisovich Ivanov ( rus, Сергей Борисович Иванов, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej bɐˈrʲisəvʲɪtɕ ɪvɐˈnof; born 31 January 1953) is a Russian senior official and politician who has served as the Special Representative of ...

commented on the U.N. missions findings. He said "these rockets were supplied to dozens of countries", but that "the Soviet Union never supplied warheads with sarin to anyone". Another type of rockets was used in the Eastern Ghouta attack.

Operators

Current operators

* * * - 48 BM-14/16 * - A number destroyed during the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

. * * - 20 BM-14-16 * * - 32 * -

Indonesian Marine Corps '' ("Glorious on the Land and Sea") , colors = , colors_label = Beret color , march = Mars Korps Marinir , mascot = , equipment = ...

(Korps Marinir) operates 36 BM-14/17 launchers. Replaced by RM-70 Grad in 2003. * * * * * - 50 BM-13, BM-14. * - 200 BM-14 * - 200 BM-14 purchased in 1967. Still in service * - fielded during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

from 1967 * -30

Former operators

* - Passed on to successor states in 1991. * - retired

Similar designs

* The Type 63 130mm multiple rocket launcher (not to be confused with the towed Type 63 of 107mm) is the Chinese version of the BM-14-17. It has a slightly smaller calibre but is fitted with 19 instead of 17 launch tubes. The Type 63 MRL is based on the Nanjing NJ-230 or 230A 4x4 truck, a licence-produced version of the Soviet GAZ-63/63A. * The WP-8z ( pl, Wyrzutnia Pocisków rakietowych) was a Polish towed rocket launcher that was developed in 1960. The weapon was subsequently produced between 1964 and 1965. It fired the same rockets as the RPU-14 but had only 8 launch tubes. The main operator was the 6th Pomeranian Airborne Division ( pl, 6 Pomorska Dywizja Powietrzno-Desantowa). with 12-18 WP-8s in its inventory.

References

External links

Use of BM-14 by the TalibanRange and PayloadWalk-around of Type 63 130mm MRL

Bibliography

* * * {{SovArtyColdWar Cold War artillery of the Soviet Union Multiple rocket launchers of the Soviet Union Chemical weapon delivery systems Military equipment introduced in the 1950s